Hi, my husband and I have a single family rental house in south central Indiana that has been occupied for a little over 2 years by a man, his GF and both of them have 1 teenage son that stays with them 50-75% of the time. 4 people, 2 adults, 2 minors.
The man, we'll call him Brad, is the only adult listed as a tenant on the lease as the GF, we'll call her Sarah, stated on move in that she absolutely did not want to be on the lease. At the time Brad seemed a bit surprised by her statement but they moved forward.
In the General Use section of the lease we have a portion about persons authorized to reside on the premises and it states that Brad's domestic partner (no specific name) and any minor children of Brad or his partner can reside there. The General Use section also prohibits guests from staying more than 14 days.
Now the problem. Brad had to start working out of state a few months ago, come home on weekends, etc. Sarah has been bringing another man over, Ring camera did its thing, Brad got proof, Brad gave notice that he is ending the month to month lease as of February 28, 2026.
All fine, except for Sarah. Sarah will not pay the rent. She's stating she doesn't have to leave and we can't make her because she has a minor child. News to me. Brad is planning on gathering his belongings while he is home this weekend and washing his hands of it, but paying the January and February rent, supposedly.........
How do we get her out as quickly as possible? At this point she's a guest for 13 more days, not his domestic partner, as of yesterday. I don't think we can just show up and put her stuff on the lawn and change the locks, as much as I'd like to. But I'm concerned she's going to damage the house out of anger, Brad will be responsible and this will go on for months. Any advice, please and thank you in advance!
Brad's lease is over when he returns the property to you, VACANT. So notify him of that fact, and let him know that you will be filing an eviction for non-payment of rent against every person eighteen or older who is in the dwelling after rent is not paid. This is Brad's problem, to get his GF and her kids out, so that he can end his lease. If he stops paying rent and the unit is not returned to you empty, you file the eviction against ALL of them, including Brad.
Crazy work by Sarah not wanting to be on the lease. Depending on state laws Brad or OP might even be able to have her trespassed right away.
Brilliant, thank you! I'm copy/pasting/editing this to Brad right now.
Question: if Brad is a good guy, couldn't OP serve eviction papers to anybody over the age of 18 who is still living there, but omit to serve Brad? Or omit serving Brad on the down-low?
If someone rents your car via Turo, and then gives it to their friend to drive, and they run off with it, who is responsible? Who owns the contract? Who gave them access to the car?
Brad let his irresponsible gf in. He does not get to walk away, leaving the contract, leaving the LL holding the bag. LL must file against all of them plus john and jane doe, and then if Brad does not cover the costs, garnish Brads wages.
You're correct. I'm just wondering if the landlord really likes Brad and desires to do Brad a solid, how can landlord evict GF without harming Brad?
This is a business relationship. Theyre not friends. Friends dont steal from each other, and bringing in a gf, in violation of the lease, then ditching her and leaving her in possession of someone else's property, is theft. It is not being a good "friend".
That would be my preference. But it's looking like it falls back on him. We've been doing this for awhile, seen some things (haven't all landlords) but this is new. I love her attempt at staying just because she has a minor child, no that's not a thing in IN. People are a lot sometimes!
Issue a notice and then evict. Its the only move you have left if she refuses to leave.
Give her the paperwork and then explain to her you mean business and will use the court system to remove her if necessary. This talk about "I wont leave and I have a child" - she can say that to a judge.
Let her know that an eviction is visible to the next landlord she applies to and guarantees this will sink any application. Explain to her you are willing to retract the eviction if she peacefully leaves.
Id also see a lawyer and see if you can serve Brad with papers so perhaps he can add to her pressure to get her out quickly. He is her guest and he only has fulfilled the lease when the leasehold is returned vacant to the landlord. If his guest and son are living there, he is still responsible. If you manage this correctly, you make him your enforcer to advance your goals.
Next time - NEVER accept an adult over 18 not being on the lease.
Unfortunately I think this will be the only course of action. I know we have to issue a notice to vacate to her first, getting that together now. I wish she'd just do the right thing here, but I don't see that happening.
Then keep your head on straight and go about this professionally. Issue the notices yesterday - dont wait. Keep the pressure on her and advise her about her future renting prospects with an eviction on record - this has usually worked for me to motivate tenants.
That is a brilliant play, thank you for that. I'm filling in the blanks on the notice to vacate right now, next stop is the Post Office to send it certified, then hope she goes on her own. If not, eviction it is.
She is likely emotional from the breakup and likely has no where to go. She made need to cool her head a bit but you continue to provide the threat of eviction. It may motivate her. Her response may change and she might cooperate once she returns to reason. Dont ever let up on the gas. Its your only card. IF you withdraw the eviction, you will have to get back in line at the very end of you need to file it again. Play hardball with a professional & diplomatic tone.
Dont ignore the Brad angle. Implore him to help you as well - this was his tenancy and his guest. He too risks an eviction on his record. Get all the help you need from him too.
Deliver it by hand. Why would you help her by sending her mail — her name on it— to a place she technically should not be? You seem to want to avoid any interaction with her. That is not going to work in your favor.
No problem interacting, big problem when the courts we utilize require proof a certified letter was sent and I don't have that so they throw the case out, so i ALWAYS send important docs certified.I interacted with her all day, while I was also working my regular job.
You don’t have to wait for the lease to be up to evict her. She’s living there but doesn’t have a lease. In most states she needs 30 days official notice so give it to her (make sure it’s documented). Then you can have a court ordered eviction if necessary before Brad’s time is up. But Brad needs to be reminded he’s responsible for the condition of the home once it’s vacated.
Honestly wondering if she's had past evictions which could be part of why she was adamant about not wanting to be on the lease. OP, you need to enforce anyone living there full-time over the limits and over the age of 18 needs to be on the lease, including background checks
File a dispossessory (eviction) against Brad “and all others” - or whatever wording your state likes to describe additional residents who are not on the lease, authorized or not. The fact that Brad is moving out has no bearing on the style of your filing - his name must be on the filing. That’s too bad for Brad, but it’s his responsibility.
I’ll take a different approach and suggest a “cash for keys” option, but put the onus on Brad to make it happen. Assuming the Feb 28th date is based on a 60-day notice requirement, tell Brad you’d be willing to let the lease end on January 31st IF everyone living at the residence has vacated by that date. Losing one month’s rent would be well worth avoiding all the costs and complications of an eviction.
Update- I took most of the comments/advice provided here and approached them both individually, mentioned a lot of what i thought and was told here, countered on a few items, was a bit of an unemotional ass, but- currently Brad is on the hook for the remainder of the month and Sarah and I had a few "you need to see the light" moments and she is (as of now) vacating by 12/31. We'll see what 12/31 actually brings.
No more adults in the houses not on the lease. Period. Thank you to all the kind humans, I needed that, it's greatly appreciated.
File eviction against her now. You can evict people with minor children. She knew what she was doing when she refused to get on the lease, she knew it would be harder to evict her. You're going to have to let the guy know that if you have to proceed with eviction against her, you'll have to evict him too, so get him to get her out.
That sounds like a Brad problem.. he is responsible to pay until the end of his lease. He can figure it out.
Yeah, this is one most try but follow this one rule. Everyone 18+ in age will have a background check and a credit check. Who you want to have a fiduciary relationship with signs the lease. At least then you would know why she wouldn't want to be on the lease, probably bad credit and knew she had a new boyfriend, and you can decide if you want her in your unit at all. Had you told her fine she wasn't financially responsible but you have to do a background check she would have never wanted that and they wouldn't be your tenants now.
Work with a local eviction lawyer to resolve this problem and learn about how to evict someone.
Then avoid future problems by following up with learning about your local and state landlord/tenant laws.
We've evicted before, but all adults were on the lease. Never had to potentially evict a "guest".
Get all her information from Brad and then include her on the eviction. Never ever let an adult stay in your unit without being on the lease or you at least having a full background check and social. This is why she refused to be on the lease, she was planning this exit strategy if they broke up.
My locale, which isn't yours, has specific verbiage to include unknown individuals. Something like "all other parties", check with a local lawyer for the equivalent in your area.
She’s not a guest- she established residency for herself by staying longer than the 30/60/90 days required by your state. You also knew she was there on move in- it may not matter that you accepted an adult not being on the lease- as legally she is over 18 and established residency by staying.
Double check with your state, but it would seem she IS just as liable here as Brad.